Hull City have seen a bid in the region of £7m turned down by Stoke City for winger Sorba Thomas, with the Tigers reigniting previous interest in the Welshman.
The Potters, who host City in the second round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, are not actively trying to sell the 27-year-old, who has two years left on his contract at the bet365 Stadium, unless they receive an offer they deem too good to turn down.
Stoke, who have lost both of their opening Championship games, are believed to value Thomas at around double what City’s bid totalled, though it’s thought to have been made up of an initial cash offer, plus a series of add-ons. Hull Live understands the Tigers would not be willing to meet that demand.
City were on the cusp of signing Thomas two-and-a-half years ago when he was on loan at Nantes in France from Huddersfield Town, and had agreed terms with the Terriers.
Nantes were unwilling to allow him to leave their season-long loan early to move back to England and seal a move to the MKM Stadium, with City ending up signing Louie Barry on loan from Aston Villa in a deal which eventually caused the Tigers some issues further down the line.
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Thomas joined Stoke the summer following City’s interest, in a deal worth around £1.5m, and he has gone on to become one of the Championship’s most potent wingers, scoring a screamer against Sergej Jakirovic’s side in the Potteries last season. That was before the Tigers roared back to win 2-1 thanks to Semi Ajayi and a late, late winner from Joe Gelhardt.
Last season, Thomas topped the Championship’s assist charts with 13, along with 10 goals in 45 league outings, but has never played at Premier League level.
City are in talks with a host of other potential new signings, and could yet reignite their interest in Real Betis winger Pablo Garcia in the final days of the transfer window, if the Spanish club lower their expectations from what had originally been agreed. Mohamed Ali-Cho is another former target that City have gone back in for, after agreeing terms with Nice.
The Premier League club also remain in discussions with Deportivo La Coruna over a move for talented wide-man Yeremay Hernande and are hopeful of striking a deal for the 23-year-old. It’s also expected that the club will be able to strike a deal for Union Berlin frontman Ilyas Ansah, with a £15m bid on the table. The 21-year-old forward is understood to want the move, and both clubs remain in talks over a suitable deal, with a five-year contract on offer.
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